La Haine

saw this at the cinema last night hot on the heels of Akira the week before. two hallowed films from my youth which i hadn't seen since my early twenties.

I expected Akira to have felt a lot 'safer' by today's standards, but no it's just as bonkers, violent, confusing and beautiful as I remembered.
By turns, La Haine was a lot less violent and a lot lot funnier than I remembered. There were parts that had me creasing-up in the cinema, not least the old Eastern European man in the toilet and Sayid's reaction to his story.

La Haine is also beautifully shot. I seem to remember it being billed as being confrontational and controversial at the time; a thuggish film about thuggery, which really it isn't.

I also liked Hubert's mother's prosaic reaction to his slightly hammy gushing about needing to get out of the projects.